Summer camp: The win-win of the summer
It’s funny. For most things I write about, I feel at least qualified to write about them because I have had the experiences personally. Not with summer camps. My Mom, famously, has said multiple times, “Why would I send you away? I love you”. Touché.
Summer camps came onto my radar when I met my wife, who went as a kid. We’ve been going at least once a year for alumni and family weekends ever since, so I’ve gotten to know the camp layout and all the wonderful people who work there well over the years. These weekends have always been a good excuse to hang with her “camp friends” for long weekends at a time.
I put that in quotes because they are just friends, but she met them at camp. It reminds me of my college buds. There’s just a different relationship you have with people when you are living with them. Millions of micro-experiences over drinks at night or coffee in the morning. Heck, two of our best friends from this group, now married, 2 daughters, the whole nine, MET at this camp. It’s a magical place, laden with campfire s’mores and hookups.
Fast forward to today, and our 9-year-old is about to embark on his first full summer of camp. He’s been going there since he was crawling, so like me, he knows the names and faces, and after finishing a 3.5-week session last summer, he made it pretty clear that he wanted more of this. We saw a noticeable difference in him when we visited last summer in the midst of his session. He had an (adorable) swagger to him that was new and looked good on him. Like a “welcome to my camp” vibe in the best way possible. So much so that as we were leaving, he almost forgot to say goodbye to us. He was ready to move on to the next fun activity.
As a parent of two boys who seem hell-bent on destroying each other most of the time, I’m looking forward to this respite from reffing and really spending some quality time with our 6-year-old this summer.
I imagine we won’t get too many detailed stories from him about what happened at camp, but I look forward to the day he’s a bit older, the statute of limitations has run out, and he feels confident telling us exactly what he got up to in the summer of ‘26.
How about you? Do you have any great camp stories or lifelong friends you met at summer camp?
This month, Murph Consulting turned 18. I cranked up Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" and Skid Row's "18 and Life" to get the vibes going. My company is now old enough to vote, get a tattoo, and get married, all without parental consent. Watch out, world!
In all seriousness, the passing of another year of entrepreneurship and running a successful business always feels like a good time to reflect. Since we started in 2007, we've assisted nearly 600 small businesses and residential clients. Businesses in every industry, ranging in size from the solopreneur to 100 employees. There’s no company we’ll say “you’re too small for us to help”, and that gives me great joy. Small businesses need tech and CyberSecurity support, and we’ve got their backs.
Speaking of, it's October again, and you all know what that means, right? The Mets have failed us, and the Islanders, Jets, and Rangers are about to. It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every small business should be implementing some basic security measures by now. It's easier and more affordable than you think it is, and definitely cheaper than dealing with the fallout of something drastically bad happening to your business.
How's your password game? Do you use strong passwords on all the sites you visit, or are they all slight modifications of one word, like your kids or pets' names or birth dates?
If it's the latter, let's chat. You should be using a password manager. They are easy to use, create complex passwords for you that you no longer need to remember, and keep them all safe for you. I can't remember the last time I had to click on the "forgot your password" link for any site, and I love that for me.
A password manager is just one of the seven software we feel EVERY small business should have in place to help keep them protected in 2025. We’ve packaged these up together neatly and made them affordable for the small businesses we will always support. If you’d like to learn more, please click the “Contact Murph” button below to send me an email.